Pontsticil

We drove to Wales without much of a plan. This approach leaves
Yannis very nervous (For the record, it doesn't
make me nervous, I just don't like spending a lot of time wandering around
trying to find a hotel). However, we happened upon the lovely village of
Pontsticil, in the Brecon Beacon just up hill from the city of Merthyr
Tydfil. We had a self-catering 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath house - with
breakfast! We highly recommend it to anyone heading towards Wales.

The road to Pontsticil (actually this is the road back down to Merthyr from
Pontsticil)

The old railway line from Cardiff
to Brecon has been converted to a walking path, this bridge was on the
section that we explored just down the road from our house.

Tasha serenades the sheep! (Do you like her new pocket trumpet? It's blue!)

We never could find the
entrance to this bridge driving. Finally, Yannis couldn't stand it any
longer. He parked the car and wandered up on to the bridge, which is
only available on foot.

Tasha and Anika climb the hill, scaring off all the sheep! It was a
big hill! Do you see them on the left?

Our next stop - Talybont on Usk

This is a draw
bridge over the canal next to our B&B. Someone from the barge has
to come on shore to raise it and lower it.

The cemetery at Llanfrynach was
cool looking with massive trees and ivy covered stones.
This door is also in Llanfrynach and caught Yannis's eye.

Driving in the Brecon Beacon requires continuous vigilance, as these are
2-way streets! These weren't isolated occurrences. This is
what many of the roads off the motorway were like.

Horseback Riding

Yannis had a horse that liked to go slooowwww - so he was always
trailing way behind! Newenka's horse 1) was gassy, 2) hated walking
through mud and went to great lengths to try to avoid it. When forced
to walk through mud, he
made a great, loud show of stomping the mud off his feet once back on firm
ground. Anika and
Tasha report that their horses loved to trot.

On the homeward journey.

Caerphilly Cassel

This was one impressive castle. It was double moated and still had
fortifications on the inside tower!

This is where the Prince of Wales is crowned

Cassel Coch

This is the fairytale castle - a rich man bought the it in the late 1800 and
fixed it up for his new wife...

The day we were there, they were preparing for a wedding, and a lovely
harpist was playing in the chapel.

Caerleon Roman Amphitheatre

This old Roman amphitheatre sits unassumingly next to a farmer's field. It was built
in 90 A.D. and used until the Romans withdrew in 290 A.D. It had an
excavated center, and the dirt banks were used to support the first several
rows of seats. Additional seating was constructed of wood, and would
have been huge - they estimate that more than 6000 people could watch the
activities in the Amphitheatre.

The kids scoped it out and then held their daily PE session in around the
perimeter.

Strictly speaking, we are back in
England, but these pictures will flow better here, so my apologies to the
perfectionists in the audience.

We had planned our visit to Stonehenge to be on the summer solstice, since at
daybreak the rising sun passes through two stones and illuminates the
altar stone. That would be cool, huh? Then, as we were driving
from Wales, we heard on the news that 23,000 people had been at Stonehenge
overnight to watch this very event!! (And, this being England, it was
overcast and drizzly.) We were sad to have missed it, but not really
given the idea of joining 23,000 others to hang out in the rain and cold!
Funny that our calendar back home said that the 22nd was the solstice, while
here it was the 21st. (Of course in school we learned June 21, but
that all changed after the millennium and I always attributed it to the lack
of a leap year in the year 2000.) Oh well.

Our

first glimpse and impression

"We
just cruised by Stonehenge! Wow!!! You come up and over this hill and then there
on the top of the next little crest sits Stonehenge in all its glory!

"Of
course you can’t find the camera until you have come down form the crest and
then there is a truck in the way and then you are so low down that the trees
block your view and then the hill itself stands between you and finally you
park the car on the shoulder and you have to stare at Stonehenge through a very ugly, tall, green,
chain-link fence, because it is 19:05 and Stonehenge "closes" at 19:00"

Lucky for us, we came back the next day. :-) And this time,
we were ready for that view off the hill.

Survey

Now for a little survey - choose your favorite Stonehenge picture by clicking
the >next to you choice. This will issue
an email indicating your choice. If you like, you may elaborate on the
reasons for your choice, though this is strictly optional. Remember,
you can click on the photo to have it enlarged.